Aubrey (left) and Elena Smyth have painted murals across much of their incoming storefront in Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood. Their art brand Armageddon Beachparty’s character Gidget the Cyclops Cat, pictured, features prominently in their designs.

At first Elena and Aubrey Smyth resented the cyclops cat character they created on a whim, but now he's plastered across the art gallery and shop they're working on opening in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood.

The husband-and-wife artist team, creators of the art brand Armageddon Beachparty, are building out a space in a strip on Trumbull Avenue alongside four other businesses: a cheesecake bakery, a bike and coffee shop, a casual Japanese restaurant and a rock-and-roll bar.

Crain's Detroit Business

Two buildings being renovated at 5063 Trumbull Ave. will house five small businesses, including a bike and coffee shop, a gallery and retail store, and a cheesecake bakery.

The two-building cluster that houses all five businesses is 95 percent renovated, estimated owner Jim Geary, who also owns the Woodbridge Pub a block north.

The complex at 5063 Trumbull Ave. is approximately 7,000-8,000 square feet total, sitting just south of Geary's for-sale Woodbridge Pub. He told Crain's a year ago that he planned to sell the neighborhood pub and other property at an asking price of $1.225 million. They're still for sale, but Geary said that if he doesn't get an offer soon, he may start developing the lots himself.

Just south of the pub, the Smyths, both Detroit natives, are covering the walls and floor of their first official brick-and-mortal space with murals. The move comes about five years after they first quit their day jobs and started painting at live music shows and festivals. They created Gidget the Cyclops Cat during those days as an idea for some smaller, quick paintings, and "it just grew into this thing," Elena said.

"So for a while, Gidget was the bane of our existence, but since then we've embraced him," she said.

The one-eyed feline now features prominently in the Smyths' business concept. They'll sell original paintings, as well as accessories branded with their work and vintage decor, at their 1,300-square-foot retail store and art gallery when it opens — hopefully in around two months, Elena said.

"We thought that it would be a great idea to, from the very start, to start off with building a brand so that there's always an accessible option for people who are fans of our work," she said.

Paintings range in price from around $150 to up to as much as $10,000, but accessories and art prints go for about $20-$300.

Two artist residencies for country musician Zac Brown — they happened to meet him while showing at a New Orleans festival — brought them the $45,000 they needed to build out the Armageddon Beachparty Store & Lounge, Elena said. They signed the lease around a year and a half ago.

They also plan to eventually host music events, film screenings and burlesque performances.

Katsu, coffee and more

The Smyths' store will nestle between a Japanese small-plates restaurant called Katsu Detroit and Bikes & Coffee, a combined cafe and bike shop that caters to commuter cyclists.

Katsu Detroit, majority-owned by a restaurateur and businessman in China named Roy Chen, is aiming to open in the building's 2,200-square-foot corner slot in July, minority owner Joshua Chiatovich said. It's modeled after a casual Japanese concept called an izakaya, which traditionally focuses on beer and sake. It will serve mainly grilled meats, tofu dishes, salads and other small dishes for sharing. Another minority owner, Katsu Yama of Japan, created the "Katsu" brand and has restaurants in Japan, Vietnam, China and other countries.

Rhonda Morris

Rhonda Morris (left) and daughter Lucki Word started Lucki’s Cheesecakes, which is expected to open a second location on Trumbull Avenue in Detroit’s Woodbridge neighborhood around late May or June.

Also set for the strip is Lucki's Cheesecakes, a bakery expanding to a second location. The first has been open for seven years in northwest Detroit near McNichols Road and Livernois Avenue.

Lucki's has been selling cheesecake for more than a decade total, since Lucki Word began at age 15 to help her mother Rhonda Morris with income after an illness. She helped Morris learn how to make cheesecake to start the business while Word went on to pursue a career as a doctor.

Morris said she wants to sell cheesecake, cake, cupcakes, lunch wraps, pasta salads and seafood macaroni and cheese in the new space, and is aiming for a late May or June opening.

Lexington Bar rounds out the development. It's named after a neighborhood haunt open from the '40s at least into the '50s in the same location.

Dave Frassetto, who was an owner in now-closed downtown Detroit martini lounge (Proof), will run the rock-and-roll bar, focusing on draft beer and whiskey, Geary said. He sees it as a "complement" to Woodbridge Pub, not competition; Lexington Bar wouldn't serve food, so it would draw from the nearby dinner spots.

Building neighbors

Geary has spent approximately $550,000 renovating the two buildings to house Armageddon Beachparty and the others, starting last spring.

Kirk Pinho/Crain's Detroit Business

Jim Geary, owner of the Woodbridge Pub in Detroit, has put the neighborhood bar and other property on the market for $1.225 million.

Ever since opening Woodbridge Pub in 2008, Geary said, he's wanted more neighbors, to work toward creating a small business district. The pub and its next-door Pie-Sci pizza place sit west of Wayne State University and the main commercial drags.

"I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can have the time to … renovate these buildings," said Geary, a Woodbridge resident since 2000. "One of my goals is always to have diversity in the business landscape that reflects the diversity of the neighborhood."

Geary's Woodbridge Pub and nearby developable land are still on the market after he announced in April 2017 that he would be selling.

"I was never a restaurant person, I just did it because that's what our neighborhood needed," he said. "If (the properties listed with the pub) continue to be mine much longer, I'm gonna look at developing it myself."

Woodbridge deal or no, what's next for Geary, ideally, is taking on $2 million-$5 million redevelopment projects in the area.